The Good about Fats:
- Supplies body with essential fatty acids -EFA's (i.e. alpha-linoleic acid).
- Transports fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) around the body.
- Helps maintain healthy skin, and important in brain and eyesight development in children.
- Omega-3 fats are linked to good heart health, as well as low triglycerides, reduced risk of blood clot and low heart rate.
- Unsaturated fats can lower your risk for heart disease.
The Bad:
- Well-established link with heart disease and stroke.
- Trans fat linked to multiple cancers.
- Trans and Saturated fats contribute to high cholesterol.
- Even keeping your fat consumption to less than 15% of total cal/day, may not prevent artery-clogging.*
- All fats contain 9 calories/gram (compare to 4 cal for protein and carbs).
- Saturated fat should be <>
- Eliminating trans fats could prevent >250,000 heart attacks & deaths/year.**
- By law, foods labeled "trans fat-free" are allowed to contain up to 1/2 gram/serving.
What to Do:
- Avoid packaged foods when possible; choose whole foods instead or make things from scratch.
- Counterbalance the fat you ARE likely to consume by getting lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and keep proteins and dairy products lean.
- Use Olive, Canola, Sunflower, margarine when cooking and seasoning foods.
- Use nuts as a snack, instead of chips or crackers.
- Use peanut butter on veggies, fruit or rice cakes.
- Remove the skin from all poultry before cooking.
- Use avocado, instead of cheese on sandwiches.
- Prepare cold-water fish (i.e. mackerel, salmon) 2 x/wk, instead of other meats.
*Determine your daily caloric intake HERE
*American Heart Association recommends 20-35% of total calories/day come from fats.
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